This Day in History

 In 1935, the first Douglas Bridge, connecting Juneau and Douglas Island, was opened with a parade of cars.

 In 1939, the resignation of John Troy as Governor of Alaska was announced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ernest Gruening was appointed as his replacement.

 In 1949, the U.S. Budget Bureau increased the maximum per diem for federal employees traveling in Alaska from $8 to $11 a day.

 In 1969, Lathrop High School in Fairbanks closed an hour after opening on the first day of the school year when computerized class lists failed to arrive. Approximately 1,500 students had no idea what classes they were in.

 In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

 In 1924, the Rudolf Friml operetta "Rose Marie" opened on Broadway.

 In 1963, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers. "The CBS Evening News" with Walter Cronkite was lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes, becoming network television's first half-hour nightly newscast.

 In 1993, the United States and Russia formally ended decades of competition in space by agreeing to a joint venture to build a space station.

In the world

 In 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out, claiming thousands of homes but only a few lives.

 In 1985, it was announced that a U.S.-French expedition had located the wreckage of the Titanic about 560 miles off Newfoundland.

 In 1998, a Swissair MD-11 jetliner crashed off Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people aboard. Pilots for Air Canada began a two-week strike, the first in the carrier's history. President Clinton concluded his Moscow summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.